The International School on Foraminifera Urbino

The 14th ISF School has been postponed untill 2022.

10th March 2021 COVID Statement:

Dear Friends, Colleagues & Participants of the ISF,

Every year, we look forward to welcoming students and academic/industrial staff to Urbino for the International School on Foraminifera, and sharing our expertise that we are building together. But given the growing concerns around the COVID-19 virus, we are very sorry to inform you that the 14th International School on Foraminifera, which was scheduled for June, 2021, has been postponed until 2022.

We fully considered all possibilities including to organize it as a virtual course, but it would not have been the same. We believe that The Urbino School is not just a Zoom course or something that can be learnt from books. It is solidly based on meeting and working with experts, afternoon massive practical sessions, the opportunity to see thousands of slides, thin sections and loose sands, and living forams as well! It's the opportunity to discuss with the lecturers during the break, drinking a coffee or eating an ice-cream in the square, the opportunity to share published material and the amazing chance to present your research and also your samples. It's the opportunity to meet scientists from all over the world working in different aspects of science who share one thing in common: our mutual curiosity over the beauty of nature. Urbino is building up a community of people who are passionate about foraminifera who learn from each other in a stimulating environment. We feel that an online delivery system without the "afternoon sessions" and field trip to Gubbio just will not be "The Urbino School" anymore; it will just be lectures from a book.

Please accept our apologies with regards to this unfortunate matter. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, even though we have tried our best to inform everyone as soon as possible. Looking forward to meeting you in Urbino in 2022.

Yours sincerely,
The Scientific Directors of the ISF Fabry and Mike

Since its inception in 2006, the International School on Foraminifera in Urbino has been the world’s leading training school devoted to the study of foraminifera. The three-week training course is held at the newly-refurbished Collegio Internazionale at the University of Urbino. The school boasts an international teaching faculty who are among the world’s leading experts in their respective research fields. The full course consists of approximately 60 hours of lectures and 60 hours of practical work.

The course consists of four modules: Introduction to the Foraminifera, smaller benthic foraminifera, larger benthic foraminifera, and planktonic foraminifera. Course participants have the option of registering for one or more modules, or participating in the entire course. The course includes a one-day field trip to visit the classic micropaleontological localities near Gubbio, Italy.

The course is primarily intended for young researchers at the PhD or MSc stages of their careers and industrial staff working with Foraminifera, Meiofauna, Micropalaeontology, Paleoceanography, Paleoecology, and Climate History. For industrial staff, additional training modules or individual tutorials may be arranged upon request after the course.

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